Conveyors: Booked orders hold steady

After significant movement from May through July, the August conveyor booked orders index dropped just 3% from July.

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 10/10/2008

The August conveyor booked orders index was down just two points, 3% from July, but dropped 24% from August 2007, according to the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association.

There was minimal change overall among indexes, with the twelve-month index for booked orders down 2% and the CEMA billed sales (shipments index) down 1%. From August 2007, the billed sales index is down 10 points, or 7%. 

The twelve-month index for billed sales from August to July had no change, remaining steady at 146.

August’s steadiness comes after conveyor sales dropped 35% from June to July, and jumped up 41% from May to June. 

As reported last month, overall industry billed sales for the first six months of 2008 dropped 3.3%, compared to the first half of 2007. Executives who attended CEMA’s fall meetings in Chicago were pleased with the 2008 results, but expressed concern about the next 12 to 18 months.